Chapter 35 The Eldest Brother is Actually the Emperor's Ancestor? "They are the ones who are me..."

As Shi Liuying watched Chong Cang chase after him, her heart tightened, and she instinctively wanted to follow.

But she stopped abruptly as soon as she took a step, and turned around sharply to look at Jun Lintian, whose face was becoming increasingly pale.

"Senior Brother, you have to go back!"

Shi Liuying's tone was firm and unwavering. She walked back to Jun Lintian and looked up at him, saying, "Your injury can't be delayed any longer."

She then looked at Shen Hanzhou, who was still trembling slightly with excitement from his "money-scattering feat," and earnestly instructed him: "Shen Hanzhou, I beg you, make sure to send Senior Brother back to the sect safely, and make sure he rests until I bring Tai Sui back."

Her eyes were clear and focused, filled with complete trust and concern.

Looking at her worried face, Jun Lintian's heart softened, and he nodded readily, his voice gentle: "Okay, I'll listen to you."

Shen Hanzhou immediately straightened his back and thumped his chest loudly: "Don't worry! Leave it to me! I will definitely send Senior Brother back safely!"

The eldest brother was someone Shi Liuying valued highly, and he felt a great responsibility to be given the task of escorting him.

Shi Liuying felt a little relieved when she saw that the two had agreed.

She gave Jun Lintian another deep look, as if to confirm that he would really obey, before turning to Rong Yan and Chi Yang and saying, "Senior Sister Rong, Senior Sister Chi Yang, let's go."

Chi Yang had already contacted the Hidden Bees through her spiritual sense, and pointed with her fingertip: "This way!"

The three figures instantly transformed into streaks of light, speeding off in the direction indicated by the Hidden Bee.

Watching Shi Liuying and the other two disappear around the street corner, Shen Hanzhou breathed a sigh of relief and was about to fulfill his promise to escort his "weak and helpless" senior brother back to the sect.

But Jun Lintian slowly turned around, his gaze not directed towards the sect.

"Senior Brother?" Shen Hanzhou asked in confusion.

Jun Lintian walked calmly toward the imperial city, which was in the exact opposite direction from the sect, and said in a flat tone, "Follow me."

Shen Hanzhou stared in disbelief, then hurriedly jogged after him, lowering his voice anxiously, "Senior Brother! You promised Junior Sister you'd go back! If she finds out... she'll definitely be angry!"

Jun Lintian didn't stop walking, but merely glanced at him, a faint smile playing on his lips: "Who said I was going back to the sect?"

He paused, then added, "Go and avenge my junior sister, are you going or not?"

Shen Hanzhou was taken aback: "Vent your anger? How? You can't use your spiritual power right now, wouldn't you just be causing trouble if you went over there?"

He remembered Elder Yao saying that his senior brother needed to rest and recuperate, and that forcibly using spiritual power would worsen his injuries.

Jun Lintian remained as calm and composed as ever, his moon-white robes brushing the ground as he walked, without leaving a trace of dust: "Who says that spiritual energy is necessary for cultivation?"

Han Zhou was speechless at his words, wondering to himself how he could help Liu Ying vent her anger without using spiritual power. Could he just talk to her?

But looking at Jun Lintian's seemingly weak yet inexplicably resolute back, he followed him as if possessed.

Oh well, senior brother must have his reasons... At worst, if junior sister gets really angry, he... he'll just say senior brother forced him! Yeah, that's right!

How could someone as weak as him, who couldn't even lift a chicken with one hand but could barely carry it on his shoulder, possibly outmaneuver the sect's top senior brother?

The two moved like the wind, passing through the bustling streets and arriving directly outside the heavily guarded imperial city.

Jun Lintian didn't even go through the main gate. Instead, he led Chen Hanzhou as if strolling leisurely, passing over the palace walls and through the corridors and palaces.

This was the first time Shen Hanzhou had ever sneaked into the palace like this, and he felt like a thief.

His palms were sweating with nervousness, and he couldn't help but send a telepathic message: "Senior Brother, the little scuffle earlier is fine, but this...this is the location of the dragon vein in the human world. The old emperor is inside."

"Whether it is a demon, a ghost, or a cultivator, none of them can interfere with the dragon veins of the human realm. This is an ironclad rule."

"If anything happens to the dragon vein, the mortal realm will be thrown into chaos, and we'll be in deep trouble too! Shall we leave?"

He kept rambling on as Jun Lintian led him through those winding, maze-like palace passages.

Occasionally, eunuchs and palace maids would feel a gentle breeze, turn around in confusion, but see nothing, and simply assume it was just a gust of wind.

Seeing that his senior brother was completely ignoring him, he continued earnestly, "I know that the master's residence seems to be the mansion of some prince..."

Shen Hanzhou's lips curled into a smile: "But going directly to the emperor won't do any good, will it? We can't hurt the emperor, can we? We certainly can't threaten the emperor to do things for us. The emperor has to act from his own conscience; forcing him will only backfire."

Just as Shen Hanzhou was rambling on and on, almost reciting the treaty of non-interference between the human world and the cultivation world from beginning to end, Jun Lintian stopped in front of a secluded but solemn palace.

Ancient trees reach for the sky, incense smoke curls upwards, and the environment is serene and tranquil.

Shen Hanzhou sniffed, smelling a strong sandalwood scent, and looked around blankly: "Where am I again?"

Jun Lintian did not answer, but looked inside through the half-open palace door.

Inside the hall, a boy dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, who looked no more than ten years old, was kneeling on a prayer mat, burning incense and praying to the densely packed ancestral tablets and several portraits above him.

The young emperor's brows furrowed with a heaviness and worry beyond his years, and his voice trembled with a barely perceptible sob.

"Ancestors above, your unfilial son... has disturbed your peace again today."

He sighed, "Regarding the affairs of the previous dynasty, I am truly... truly powerless to help."

Shen Hanzhou peeked through the crack in the door from the outside and couldn't help but mutter in his voice, "Tsk, it sounds so pitiful. Being an emperor is really too stifling."

"That Duke Yang openly made things difficult for me in court today, criticizing my grandson for being young, lacking virtue, and unfit for important responsibilities..."

"Hey! That old man Bi Deng!" Shen Hanzhou's eyebrows shot up, as if he himself had been wronged. "He's taking advantage of his age to bully kids? Has he no shame!"

"Even the old ministers whom the late emperor had entrusted to his grandson before his death have gradually sided with the Duke of Yang, as if they had been cursed..."

Shen Hanzhou scratched his head, looking puzzled: "Something's not right. How could the people left by the late emperor have betrayed us so quickly? Could they have really been bewitched by some kind of evil magic? This is strange."

The young emperor paused, his tone becoming even more somber: "Furthermore... within the capital region, people have been frequently disappearing recently, neither alive nor dead."

"Missing persons?" Shen Hanzhou's expression turned serious. "This is no small matter. It's causing widespread panic. What are the authorities doing? Something's not right... this is really strange..."

"The Dali Temple has been investigating for a long time, but has no clue whatsoever... Grandson, I really have no other choice but to come here to complain to our ancestors."

The young emperor pulled up his sleeve and wiped his wet eyes a few times.

Seeing the young emperor secretly wiping away tears, Shen Hanzhou lost his desire to watch the spectacle and sighed, "Alas, he's a child who has had a tough time; the burden is too heavy."

Inside the hall, after calming down, the young emperor raised his head and looked at the most conspicuous portrait in the center. His eyes revealed deep longing and yearning: "If Father were still here... if the one who was by the side of the Great Ancestor, that invincible imperial uncle, were still here... how wonderful that would be."

His gaze was fixed intently on the portrait: "In the entire Great Liang, who doesn't know the dashing figure of Prince Jing on horseback? Who doesn't know that the vast land of Great Liang was almost entirely won by him, single-handedly with his spear, from the chaos of the world for the founding emperor?"

Shen Hanzhou followed the young emperor's gaze to the portrait. Although he couldn't see it very clearly, he still clicked his tongue and spoke in a tone of disbelief and sincere admiration: "Good heavens! One man and one spear conquering the world? How powerful must he be? Is this guy in the painting even human? Is he some kind of heavenly soldier descended to earth?"

Jun Lintian glanced at Shen Hanzhou, but remained silent.

The young emperor truly idolized this Prince Jing: "It is said that he was a brilliant strategist, possessing the courage of ten thousand men, and that enemy troops trembled at the mere mention of his name..."

"If I had such a pillar of strength by my side, capable of sweeping away treacherous officials and bringing peace to the world, I wouldn't be in this predicament..."

"Courage that can withstand ten thousand men? You can't beat ten thousand people?" Shen Hanzhou gestured with his thin arms and pouted. "That's a bit of an exaggeration."

He turned his head and asked a series of questions, as if asking Jun Lintian beside him, or as if talking to himself: "Wait, wait... such an amazing person, why doesn't he become emperor himself? Conquering the world is so tiring, and then letting someone else sit on it? What's the point? Is it that he doesn't want to? Or that he can't? It can't be that... he thinks being emperor is boring, right?"

Jun Lintian looked into the hall, his gaze distant, as if looking back through time to a long time ago. He casually replied, "He really finds it boring. What's the point of being an emperor compared to the freedom of riding horses across the grasslands?"

Shen Hanzhou looked at him suspiciously: "You talk as if you are him. We don't use those cumbersome things like spears."

He brought two fingers together and drew his sword with a whoosh: "We are sword cultivators."

"So what exactly did we come here for? Just to eavesdrop on the emperor's complaints?" Shen Hanzhou scratched his head. "Senior Brother, that's not fair! He's in a vulnerable position right now. What's the difference between this and deliberately kicking over the toilet paper in someone's hand while they're taking a dump?"

Jun Lintian withdrew his gaze and looked at Chen Hanzhou, his tone natural: "I've come to see the child."

"A child? What child?" Shen Hanzhou was stunned at first, then his eyes widened suddenly, his voice rising an octave before he quickly covered his mouth to whisper, "You...you...you have a child?! Now that you have a child, you can't look at Shi Liuying with those sticky, drooling eyes anymore! I can't agree to that! Our Liuying can't..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jun Lintian straightened his robes, pushed open the half-closed palace door, and went inside.

Shen Hanzhou sighed and had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow them inside.

People are worshipping their ancestors, why is the eldest brother getting involved?

Hearing the commotion, the young Emperor Zhao Jingyan inside the hall turned around in astonishment. He was about to reprimand who had trespassed into the Imperial Ancestral Temple, but his gaze froze completely the moment it met Jun Lintian's face.

His eyes blinked in disbelief, his gaze shifting back and forth between Jun Lintian's face and the dashing portrait of Prince Jing on the wall.

The portrait of Prince Jing depicts him in a moon-white battle robe, wielding a silver spear on a white horse, his ponytail tied high, his eyebrows and eyes raised, looking down upon the world with disdain.

The person before him, though pale-faced, dressed in a simple moon-white Taoist robe, with his hair unbound and his black hair loose, bore an uncanny resemblance in his eyebrows, features, and overall aura of cool elegance and hidden authority—almost eight or nine tenths like the person in the portrait!

It just lacked the ferocity of the battlefield, but gained a touch of ethereal beauty.

"Our ancestors have appeared?!"

The young emperor's legs went weak, and he knelt down with a thud. His voice trembled with extreme excitement as he shouted, "Your unworthy descendant, Jun Jingyan, pays respects to your Imperial Uncle, Prince Jing!"

Shen Hanzhou followed behind, reaching out to pull Jun Lintian back, but stood there awkwardly.

"Ah...uh, um..."

Shen Hanzhou's mind was filled with that phrase, "ancestor."

Ancestors, ancestors, ancestors...

Shen Hanzhou withdrew his hand, feeling that he was probably still half asleep.

-

On the other side, Shi Liuying, Rong Yan, and Chi Yang followed the transparent stealth bee, traveling swiftly out of the city gate and heading straight for the mountains and forests on the outskirts.

The deeper you go, the stronger the stench of the demonic aura in the air becomes, even mixed with a faint, nauseating smell of blood.

What alarmed the three even more was that a faint, almost imperceptible flash of silver-white lightning would occasionally flash through the surrounding air, carrying a chilling power of rules.

“This lightning…” Chi Yang frowned, his expression grave. After repeatedly confirming, he spoke urgently, “It’s the kind of power that comes with the system! Chong Cang’s condition is probably not good!”

Shi Liuying's heart tightened as she thought of the strange system inside Elder Chongcang's body and the various bizarre tasks it issued, and her speed increased even more.

The stealth bees eventually led them to a seemingly ordinary hillside.

On the slope stands a giant tree that requires several people to encircle, its branches and leaves lush and verdant.

However, in stark contrast to the gloomy surroundings, the tree's branches were covered with countless red ribbons and wooden plaques, each inscribed with a different wish.

"May my son, Gou Dan, return home soon..."

May the faithful woman find a good man...

"May my husband pass the imperial examination with flying colors..."

"May the Goddess of Fertility grant me a son..."

The red silk and wooden plaques swayed gently in the wind, carrying the hopes of countless mortals, appearing particularly eerie in this place filled with demonic energy and bloodshed.

"This half-demon... he's actually using demonic power to fulfill these wishes?" Rong Yan frowned in disgust. "What did he gain from it? The power of wishes? Or..."

Chi Yang's sharp gaze swept over the wishing plaques, and he said in a deep voice, "More importantly, where does his demonic power to grant wishes come from?"

Just then, a slight tremor came from the ground beneath their feet!

"Down below!" Rong Yan reacted extremely quickly, pointing her fingers like a sword, and a sharp sword aura instantly slashed out!

"boom--!"

The giant tree, laden with wishes, was cleaved in two by the sword energy, collapsing with a crash to reveal a dark, gaping hole leading to the earth.

A strong aura of demons and the stench of blood assaulted our senses!

The three exchanged a glance, and without hesitation, immediately leaped inside.

The cave was more spacious than I had imagined, but also more...horrible.

By the light emanating from the moss on the cave walls, one could see the scattered carcasses of many dogs on the ground, shriveled and twisted, clearly drained of their life force.

There were several human corpses nearby, all emaciated and in a gruesome state.

Deep inside the cave, they saw Chongcang.

Chongcang's situation is extremely bad at this moment.

He was pinned to the cold stone wall by four or five women with vacant eyes and unusually swift movements. Their eyes were numb and unfocused, as if they were just puppets being manipulated.

Blood trickled from the corner of Chong Cang's mouth, and his long, silver-gray hair was somewhat disheveled. Fine silver currents swirled around him, and every time he tried to mobilize his demonic power to resist, the currents would suddenly intensify, shattering the power he had gathered and causing him to let out a suppressed groan.

Shi Liuying clearly heard that cold, mechanical voice relentlessly repeating itself in Chong Cang's mind:

[System Task: Accept the love of the five women before you and consummate your marriage with them tonight. Failure to complete the task will result in punishment by lightning.]

Opposite Chongcang stood a... indescribable monster.

It roughly has a human-like outline, but its skin is an unhealthy bluish-gray, its face is covered with sparse hair, its mouth protrudes forward, revealing sharp fangs, it is on all fours with sharp, hooked nails, and it has a bald tail trailing behind it. Overall, it looks like a bizarre being that is half-human and half-dog.

Behind this half-demon, his trembling, pale-faced master's wife and the fat boy were tightly protecting each other.

When Chong Cang saw Shi Liuying and the other two enter, he raised his head with difficulty. A trace of anxiety flashed in his silver-gray fox eyes. He explained quickly in a hoarse and weak voice, "This half-demon... was originally human. He cultivated evil arts and first absorbed a large amount of canine essence to gain half-demon power, but the price was turning into this ghostly appearance."

His dull, silvery-gray eyes swept over the women restraining him. "He doesn't want to maintain this half-dog form, so he can only forcibly maintain his human form during the day by absorbing human essence..."

When the half-demon saw someone else intruding, it was not afraid at all; instead, it let out a sinister laugh.

It felt an unprecedented, seemingly endless surge of power within its body, even carrying a kind of "heavenly" compulsion that allowed it to easily suppress this great silver fox demon with ancient blood.

"Three more suicide missions have arrived! Perfect, my cultivation is about to reach its peak, and I need more vital energy!"

Its greedy gaze swept over Shi Liuying and the other two, finally settling on Shi Liuying. Seemingly sensing a peculiar aura emanating from her, its greed intensified, and its fanged mouth couldn't help but drool foul-smelling saliva. "This...this smell is especially peculiar, making one want to devour it..."

"Disgusting!" Rong Yan, with her quick temper, was enraged to see this half-demon so arrogant, even daring to look at her junior sister with such disgusting eyes. She brandished her longsword, aiming straight for the half-demon's face!

The half-demon was basking in the glory of his surging power when, caught off guard, Rong Yan's angry strike slashed a gash across his grayish-blue cheek, from which dark red blood seeped out.

"Ah!" The half-demon cried out in pain, letting out a roar of shock and anger.

Seeing her mentor injured, the mistress, who was hiding behind him, was both shocked and frightened. Looking at Shi Liuying and the others, a surge of anger welled up in her heart. She pointed at Shi Liuying and shrieked, "You unfilial daughter! You dare to bring people to hurt your father?! He is your own father! You unfilial daughter who deserves to be struck by lightning!"

Shi Liuying looked incredulously at the half-human, half-dog monster, then at her seemingly insane wife.

Seeing her stunned, the teacher's wife assumed she was scared and began to curse without restraint: "What are you staring at? You little slut! Just like your dead old bastard grandfather, you don't know what's good for you! If I had known you were so heartless, I should have thrown you into the cesspool to rot when you were born, so you wouldn't be here harming us, mother and child!"

His biological father?

In an instant, Shi Liuying recalled the image of her grandfather, who was limping but still gently teaching her to recognize medicinal herbs, and the deep disappointment and pain in his eyes when he mentioned "that wretched child".

The confusion in her eyes quickly faded, replaced by a cold, almost tangible anger.

She stared at her teacher's wife and asked, word by word, "Father? Is that the father who, because Grandfather wouldn't give him money to go to the gambling den, beat Grandfather so badly that he crippled one of his legs?"

Shi Liuying's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling edge: "Then he... deserves to die even more."

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

The half-demon—or rather, Shi Liuying's nominal father—covered his wounded face and roared in fury, "Old man, who can you blame for your own blindness? I won't die even if someone else deserves to die!"

He stomped his foot, and demonic energy surged around him. The several emaciated male corpses on the ground suddenly opened their empty eyes, stood up unsteadily, and pounced on Rong Yan like puppets on strings!

Rong Yan's sword flashed, instantly shattering the two corpses: "Using puppets in front of ghost cultivators is simply showing off your skills before an expert!"

But the remaining three puppets, for some reason, were unusually agile and tightly bound her, their cold, stiff arms binding her like iron hoops.

At the same time, Shi Liuying clearly heard that cold, nauseating system notification sound ringing in Rong Yan's mind:

[System Task: Surrender and allow the three men before you to do as they please, experiencing ultimate pleasure. Failure to complete the task will result in a tribulation of lightning as punishment.]

Rong Yan turned pale with anger and struggled desperately, but the painless corpse puppet entangled her more and more tightly.

The half-demon looked at Rong Yan's disheveled appearance and burst into hearty laughter, as if much of his anger from being injured had dissipated.

Seeing this, the teacher's wife rolled her eyes and put on a pained expression, calling out to Shi Liuying, "Liuying, my child, look carefully, this is your father's true skill. We are family!"

"As long as you behave and return to your parents' side, once your father has mastered his divine skills, won't this world be ours for the taking? At that time, you will be a noble princess! You will have everything you want, so why suffer in those lousy sects?"

Shi Liuying's gaze swept over Chong Cang, who was tormented by electric current and struggling to resist the system's mission, and then looked at Rong Yan, who was being entangled by the corpse puppet and whose face was flushed with anger because of the system's foul language.

The few months I spent in the sect felt like years. The scenes of my time with my senior sisters, brothers, and elders flashed through my mind at lightning speed.

She slowly shook her head, murmuring firmly, "They are my family. Bring me the Tai Sui!"

The half-demon father's smug expression froze instantly, his face contorted with rage: "Unfilial daughter! Since you insist on opposing me, don't blame me for being impolite. I'll drain you dry, and I'll still achieve my divine power!"

The pain of Rong Yan and Chong Cang, and their struggles under the control of the system, fueled the nameless fire in Shi Liuying's heart, almost scorching her reason.

She is no longer the child she once was; she can now protect those she wants to protect!

Shi Liuying opened her palm, and the completely transparent pen reappeared. The faint light flowing from the pen tip became more dazzling than ever before, as if it contained all her anger and her determination to completely sever ties with her family.

She raised her eyes to look at her arrogant so-called father, her gaze icy: "Is that so?"

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Author's Note: The teacher's wife will definitely be offline in the next chapter. [emoji]

Random red envelopes will be dropped in the comments section [pat on the head]